Gaft engine



' a Sheets-Sheet 1.

L. 11. NASH. GAS ENGINE (No Model.)

Patented June 1, 1897'.

(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 2.

L.H. NASH. GAS ENGINE.

No. 583.627. 4 Patented June 1, 1897.

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3 Sheets- Sheet 3. L. H. NASH. GAS ENGINE (No Model.)

,627. Patented June 1 1897.

m: you": mzns co. mormxma. wuumarommc NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEVIS HALLOOK NASH, OF SOUTH NORWALK, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL METER COMPANY, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

e AS 'E N e N E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 583,627, dated June 1, 1897.

Application filed May 22, 1890- Serial No. 352,786. (No model.)

To a, whom it may concern: chamber B to the inlet-ports of the power- Be it known that I, LEWIS HALLO'CK -N ASH, chamber. a citizen of the United States, residing at c is a check-valve controlling the passage South Norwalk, in the county of Fairfield and of compressed air from the compression-cham- 5 5 State of Connecticut, have invented new and her to the power-chamber. useful Improvements in Igniters for Gas-End are the air-inlet ports of the power-chamgines, of which the followingis a specification; her, which ports are uncovered by the piston My invention relates to igniters; and it conwhen in lower position and are covered by the sists of certain novel parts and combinations piston when in the position illustrated in Figs. 60 of parts, the separate features of which will 1 and 2.

be separately and specifically pointed out in D is a hood forming the cylinder cap or the claims concluding this specification. head, and also a part of the power-chamber. Referring to the accompanying drawings, It is in this hood that the charge is ignited Figure 1 represents a longitudinal vertical and in which the explosion takes place, as the 65 section through an engine, taken at right anpiston when in its uppermost position leaves gles to the crank-shaft. Fig. 2 is a longituthis space clear. This hood also forms a pasdinal vertical section taken parallel to the sage to the exhaust-valve, as shown in Fig. 2.

crankshaft, showing one form of igniter ine is the exhaust-valve, which is operated by volving my invention. Figs. 3, 4c, and5show suitable connections with the cam f on the 70 2o modified forms of my igniter. engine-shaft.

I will now describe the structures illus- The engine is provided with an auxiliary trated in the annexed drawings, which show cylinder E, which for convenience is cast on igniters involving my invention and an enone side of the power-chamber. g is a piston gine forming therewith a complete working working in this auxiliary cylinder, which pis- 7 5 2 5 combination. They maybe applied, however, ton is connected by a rod h to the connectingto any suitable type of engine. The engine rod strap of the powerpiston. shown and method of operating it separate The power-piston F and auxiliary piston g from the igniter form no part of thispatent, are both connected, therefore, to the same but it is made the subject-matter of Patent source of power, and in the drawings I have 80 No. 576,604, issued February 9, 1897. shown them so arranged that the auxiliary The following description, read in connecpiston is at ornear the end of its inner stroke tion with the accompanying drawings, is sufat the instant that the power-piston begins its ficient to enable any person skilled in the art forward stroke. to which my invention relates to practice it, It is a pipe leading from a suitable source 85 5 but it will be understood that my invention of fuel-supply to the gas-compression chamis not limited to the precise devices or the ber E. 'i is a cheok'valve controlling the pascombinations of devices illustrated and desage of fuel through said pipe, which valve scribed, as various modifications maybe made is raised to permit the entrance of fuel into without departing from the spirit of my inthe gas-compression chamberE when its pis- 4o vention and without exceeding the scope of ton reduces the pressure in said chamber bethe claims concluding this specification. low the pressure in the pipe 70, and is closed The drawings show an upright engine. to prevent said fuelbeing forced back through A is the power-cylinder, placed over the the pipe 70 when the said piston increases the crank-shaft. F is a piston of the trunk-form pressure in said cylinder above the pressure 5 suitably connected to the crank-shaft. These in the pipe in.

parts are inclosed Within a ehamberB, which 70 is a duct (shown in Fig. 1 broken off) also acts as a compression-chamber. leading to the duct 7a, (shown in Fig. 2,) a, Fig. 2, is a valve arranged to open and through which the compressed fuel passes permit air to enter said compression-chamber from the auxiliary cylinder to the power- I00 and to close and prevent its escape therefrom. chamber.

b isa passage leading from the compression- Z (see Fig. 2) is a valve controlling the entrance of fuel under pressure to the combustion-chamber, and this inlet-valve Z is operated by a rock-shaft m and a rod 11 connected to an eccentric-strap attached to the engineshaft. The fuel which has been admitted through the valve Z rushes from the orifices 19 (one of which is shown in the drawings) into the power-chamber.

The igniting device, which is the special subject-matter of this patent, is shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5, and may be thus described: s is a chamber closed at one end and open at the other to the power or combustion chamber of the engine. This tube is to be heated to a sufficiently high temperature by any suitable means. This igniter-tube is preferably placed near the line of the jet of fuel issuing from one of the jet-orifices p, and is so related to the fuelinlet that an induced or eddy current of fuel and air is caused to circulate within said tube. This I have illustrated in Figs. 3 and at. The object of so arranging the parts is to cause a certain portion of fuel and air to pass in contact with the heated surface of the ignitcr-tube, and thus to render the ignition of the charge prompt and certain. If preferred, the tube 1) may be provided with a perforation which will send a jet directlyinto the igniter-tube, and in this case the tube 1) may advantageously be longer than that shown. In order to assist and to render more certain this action, I prefer to employ in the igniter-tube a partition 2. (see Figs. 4: and 5) to divide the upward-flowin g currents from the return currents, and this partition may with advantage project below the bottom of the igniter-tube to direct the currents into the interior of said tube. A partition so arranged makes in effect a passage in the igniter through which a portion of the combustible mixture is caused to flow, thereby causing it to pass over a considerable extent of the heated surface and insuring a prompt ignition of the charge.

My improved igniter device may also be employed in an engine worked by combustible mixture made outside of the combustionchamber.

The ignitertube may be heated in any suitable way. In Fig. 3 I have shown it heated by a burner which consists of an inelosing tube or chamber H, preferably lined with a non-conducting material II-such, for instance, as asbestos or fire-brick. The burner shown in Fig. 3 is particularly designed to be used in connection with a liquid fuel and is provided with a chambered passage 00', into which the volatile liquid fuel is admitted, and a jet-tube '1), which leads from said chambered passage to an opening in at one side of the chimney or tube. In this The same structure maybe employed with ordinary coal-gas, such as is supplied from city gas-mains, or with other suitable gas, in which case the gas will be heated while passing through the chamber-passage 0c and thence discharged through the tube o.

The operation of the device illustrated in Fig. 3 may thus be described: Fuel under pressure issues from the jet-tube v and sucks in a quantity of air with it through the opening 10, which is larger than the external diameter of the tube 0), or which is provided with openings or perforations in its end. The air and fuel are thus mingled and form a combustible mixture. This is, it will be seen, a blowpipe-fiame and will rapidly heat the igniter-tube. Any combustible gas or vapor may be used for this purpose. hen vapor or gas of a volatile oil is employed, I prefer to obtain the required pressure at the j et-orifree by means of the head of acolumn of fuel acting by gravity.

Referring to Fig. 3, I represents an oil-tank in communication with the passage 00 by means of a pipe 00, provided with a cook :0 by means of which the flow of liquid through the pipe may be controlled. It will be seen that in this structure the pressure of the vapor in the passage in may be as great as that due to the hydraulic head of the liquid contained in the tank I. In this figure I have also shown a tube .I, which forms an outer chimney or casing for the chimney II. This casing is provided with air-passages at its base communicating with the annular space between the chimneys II and J. a depression designed to contain alcohol or some other inflammable material which when ignited will quickly heat the tube II. In this depression y asbestos or some other porous non-inflammable material may be placed to act as a wick for the alcohol flame. By this device the chambered passage as may be primarily heated to convert the liquid fuel contained therein into a gaseous form. hen this is accomplished, the blowpipe-flame issuing from the tube 1) is set in operation and thereafter the chamber at is maintained at the requisite heat by the waste heat of combustion, and the external flame under the annular space between the chimneys II and J may be dispensed with.

When gas from the ordinary gas-mains is employed, it is desirable, in order that a blowpipe-flame be obtained, that the gas should be compressed by some means under a greater pressure than is employed in said mains, and this can be done by the use of a compression chamber or pump, or by any other suitable means. If instead of a blowpipe-Iiame an ordinary Bunsen flame be desired, such additional pressure is not necessary. Neither is it necessary for a Bunsen flame, when liquid fuel be used, to place the reservoir for such fuel at so great a height.

It has been found in practice that i gniters of all forms heated to incandescence are rap- 31 indicates ICO use of some such material as this considerably augments the life of the parts, and these coatings may be applied as permanent coatings, or they may be added or applied to the parts in service. The highly-heated portions of the combustion-chamber are by prefence also coated with a similar material.

The governor shown consists of a weight attached to the fiy-wheel balanced by a spring and connected so as to impart motion to a .wedge u, placed on the eccentric-rod n to vary the lift of the valve Z, and thus to control the quantity of fuel admitted to the engine each time the valve opens. As the governor does not form any part of my present invention and as any suitable governor may be employed, a further description of this part of the structure is considered unnecessary.

The operation of the engine illustrated in the drawings and above described is as follows: The pistons F and g. are shown in Fig. 1 in their highest position and just ready to begin their downward strokes. As the piston F moves down it compresses the air contained in the chamber B. As the piston 9 moves down it raises the check-valve 2 and draws a charge of fuel into the cylinder E. \Vhen the piston F is near its lower position, the exhaust-valve e is opened and the piston F uncovers the ports d, so that at this instant the compressed air from the chamber B rushes through the passages 17 and d into the power-chamber and drives out the spent gases contained therein through the exhaust-port. After the piston F has made a portion of its return stroke the Valve 6 is closed and the air remaining in the power-cylinder'is compressed by the back stroke of the piston F. At the same time that the piston F is making its back stroke the piston g is compressing the fuel contained in the cylinder E, and when the piston F is just ready to begin its next forward stroke the fuel in the cylinder E will be under high compression. At this instant the valve Z is opened and quickly closed. While this valve is open the fuel contained in the cylinder E rushes through the passage Zr; and through the orifices p with a high velocity, so that during a period of time probably not greater than one-hundredth part of a second a complete mixture of the gas entering the power-chamber and the air under pressure within the powerchamber is affected. A portion of the fuel so admitted enters the igniter-tube and forms therein a combustible mixture, which is ignited by its hot walls, the ignition being instantly communicated to the body of the charge. The complete mixture of air and fuel takes place in an engine so constructed, practically speaking, instantaneously while the piston is at the beginning of its downward stroke and before it has made any appreciable movement. In fact, so instantaneous is this action that the cards taken from the engine thus operated are practically the same as those taken from engines in which a combustible charge already mixed is introduced into the chamber and ignited, as in ordinarygas-engines. The piston F now moves forward by the pressure of the exploded gases and also by the pressure of the remnants of gas remaining in the cylinder E. The action of the gas-compression cylinderE and the gascompression piston g eflects a direct gain in economy, While the structure shown commends itself on account of its simplicity. The clearance-space of the gas-compression cylinder E, together with the passage it, forms a storage-reservoir which is in free communication with the gas-compression cylinder E at all tin1esthat is to say, no check-valve separates the passage is from the clearancespace in the gas-compression cylinder. If no gas were used by the engine-that is, if the valve Z did not liftthe gas contained in this reservoir would be compressed and expanded at each stroke of the piston without expenditure of fuel, because the pressure in the reservoir would never fall below the pressure in the passage 70', and hence no gas would enter said reservoir. If, however, agiven quantity of gas is admitted to the power-cylinder by the valve l, the remaining portion of gas contained in said reservoir expands back until the pressure therein is below the pressure in the passage 70, whenv the valve '5 opens to admit to the reservoir a quantity of gas just equal to that used by the engine in the preceding stroke. The power therefore expended compressing the gas is by self-regulation proportional to the quantity consumed, and the pump is ready instantly to supply a full charge to the engine or no charge, just as the engine may require.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a check-valve Z arranged in the passage between the gas-compression chamber and the gas-cylinder. In case the ignition of the charge should take place before the valvel closes, this checkvalve Z will, by means of the pressure due to the explosion, instantly close.

L (see Fig. 2) is a chamber into which the exhaust-gases from the compression-chamber are introduced by a tangential passage, and L is a pipe leading from the center of this chamber and through which the waste gases finally escape to the air. The object of this chamber is to diminish the noise caused by the outrushing of the exhaustgases. In a structure constructed and arranged as shown it is evident that the greater the velocity of the exhaust-gases the greater will be their tendency by centrifugal force to hug the circumference of the chamber L and the greater will be the friction between the sides of the chamber and the revolving gases. \Vhatever, therefore, be the velocity of these gases when they enter this chamber their velocity will be rapidly diminished and they will finallyissue from the pipe L with a quiet flow, making little or no noise. It is not at all essential that this chamber L be circular, or that the entrance-pipe be really tangential, or that the outlet-pipe L be exactly in the center. The object of the device is to receive the exhaust and to diminish its velocity before it is permitted to escape to the air, and this function is best performed when the exhaust isadmitted in such manner as to impinge upon the walls of the chamber and by friction therewith to reduce its velocity before it escapes. This device, obviously, is applicable to other forms of engines than that described here, and among others to engines operated by the expansion or explosion of different agentssuch, for instance, as by the expansion of steam.

This patent has, as I have said, special reference to the igniter herein shown and described, which is applicable not only to a gasengine constructed and operating as herein set forth, but is equally applicable to engines constructed and operating quite differentlyfor example, to engines employing any of the other well-known forms of fuel or operating as four-cycle engines. For this reason, in compliance with official requirements,tl1e features of construction and operation independent of the igniter are covered in another pending application, filed August 16, 1890, Serial No.'362,194, which is a division of this case.

In the foregoing specification 'I have incidentally referred to a few of the modifications which may be adopted in practicing my invention, but I have not endeavored to specify all the modifications which might be employed, the object of this specification being to instruct persons skilled in the art to practice the several novel features of my invention in their present preferred forms and to enable them to understand their nature; and I desire it to be distinctly understood that mention by me of a few modifications is not in any way intended to exclude others not referred to, but which are within the spirit and scope of my invention.

As I have before remarkednnany of the combinations and details illustrated and above described are not essential to the several features of my invention, separately and broadly considered. All this will be indicated in the concluding claims, as in any given claim the omission of an element or the omission of the particular features of the elements mentioned is intended to be a formal declaration of the fact that the omitted elements or features are not essential to the invention therein covered.

Having thus described a machine embodying in preferred forms all the several features of my present invention in combination, what I separately claim, and desire to secure by these Letters Patent, is the following:

1. Au incandescent igniter for gasengines consisting of a chamber in constant communication with the coinbustion-chamber having a partition dividing it into separate passages both communicating with the combustionchamber, through which passages the combustion mixture flows in contact with the hot walls thereof.

2. In a gas-engine the combination with a fuel-supply to the power-chamber of an incandescent igniter consisting of a chamber having a partition dividing its interior into separate passages, both communicating with said power-chamber, said partition extending into said power-chamber.

3. The combination in an explosive gas engine, of a heated chamber for igniting the charge in free communication with the combustion-chamber and a fuel-jet arranged i11- side the power-cylinder adjacent to said chamber so as to induce a current therein of combustible mixture.

4. The combination, in a gas-engine, of a hollow incandescent igniter, a fuel-supply jet having one of its orifices arranged across the open end of said igniter and a branch orifice standing within said igniter and a supplyvalve for controlling said jet-orifices.

5. In a gas-engine, the combination, of the fuel-supply valve to the power-chamber, a hollow incandescent igniter having a partition dividing its interior into separate passages, and a supply-jet having one of its orifices arranged across the open end of said igniter.

6. In a gas-engine, the combination, with the fuel-supply valve to the power-chamber, a hollow incandescent igniter having a partition dividing its interior into separate passages, and a supply-jet having one of its orifices arranged across the open end of said igniter and a branch orifice standing in line with one of the igniter-orifice passages.

7. The combination, in a gas-engine of a hood forming a part of the com bustion-chamber extended to one side of the path of the power-piston, a hollow incandescent igniter upon said hood opening into the extended end of said chamber, a fuel-supply-jet orifice arranged within said chamber across the open end of said igniter and a supply-valve for controlling said jet-orifice.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEIVIS HALLOOK NASH.

Witnesses:

"WM. E. FITZ SIMONs, J NO. 11. NORRIS.

Its 

